Subject: Misc bird questions from students
Date: Nov 2 15:14:31 1995
From: Kathleen Hunt - jespah at u.washington.edu



I just finished teaching the first bird lab for U.W.'s Vertebrate Zoology
course. There are several good students in this lab, and they came up
with several fun questions that I didn't know the answers to, and that I
can't find info on in my ornithology texts. Anyone care to take a stab?

Why do coots bob their heads when they swim? Does it make them more
efficient paddlers somehow?

Do swifts *really* sleep on the wing or is that just a rumor?

When a hummingbird goes into torpor for the night, does it try to build a
little nest or find an insulated crevice, to save as much heat as possible?

Why does a nighthawk have combs on its claws?
(Related note -- I believe the herons have a comb on their middle claw to
comb powderdown into their plumage for improved waterproofing -- true? KH)

Thanks --

Kathleen
P.S. If anyone sees a loose zebra finch on the U.W. campus, it's from the
aviaries on Kincaid. Sigh. Tell it to come on home to where the seed &
heat lamps & all its buddies are.


Kathleen Hunt / U. Washington - Zoology / jespah at u.washington.edu
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A bird doesn't sing because he is happy - he sings because he has a song.